Europe moves lower on US-China trade uncertainty; Travis Perkins sees best day in nearly 10 years

European stocks were mostly in the red Tuesday, as investors looked for clarity and detail from U.S.-China trade talks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down by 0.2 percent with almost every sector in the red. Autos were the worst performers in early deals, down more than 1 percent.

PSA Peugeot Citroen reported a 43 percent increase in operating income but the stock fell 3 percent amid a boarder sell-off, and as one analyst noted its operational targets were conservative.

Travis Perkins rose to the top of the index, up by 11 percent, seeing its best trading day in nearly 10 years, according to Reuters.The U.K.’s biggest supplier of building materials reported a higher-than-expected pretax profit, supported by its cost-cutting plan.

Shares of British Airways owner IAG slipped over 3 percent after index provided MSCI decided to exclude it from Spain’s index.

Elsewhere, Brexit remains at the front and center of European politics. On Monday, the British opposition Labour party indicated that it would back calls for a “People’s vote” on the U.K.’s impending departure from the European Union, if Parliament vetoed the party’s alternate Brexit proposal. On top of that, sterling rose after Bloomberg reported that Prime Minister Theresa May was considering delaying the current deadline for the U.K. to leave the EU. The U.K.’s departure from the bloc is currently timetabled for March 29.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he could sign a deal in the near future, in regards to ending the trade war with China, Reuters reported. But after a relief rally on Monday, investors took a more cautious approach on Tuesday, weighing the possibility that there might not be any sort of agreement between the world’s largest economies.